BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders says he feels like his old — and younger — self again a year after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous bladder.
“I consider myself cancer-free,” thanks to robotic surgery that also reconstructed his bladder using part of his intestine, Sanders told The Associated Press after getting a tutorial in the surgical system that was used in his operation.
This being Men’s Health Awareness Month, the University of Colorado football coach wanted to get a first-hand look at the Intuitive Da Vinci System, which is less invasive than open surgeries and cuts down on hospital stays and speeds recoveries.
“I was fighting” last year at this time, Sanders recalled. “I was walking out on the property with a bag of blood and also urine and trying to get back. But this expedited the process. Last year at this time I was in a whole different place, and I’m just thankful.”
Sanders missed football camps last summer in Boulder as he went through cancer treatments. The Buffaloes finished with a 3-9 mark a year after making a bowl game behind Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.